Unfairy Tales: The Novelization
by Reynard the Fox
Summary: A novelized version of a little flash game. On Halloween, Alan and his friends are pulled into a world where fairy tales and dreams come alive, though they aren't entirely like you would expect. Now Alan has to rescue his friends, and save the strange world he's found himself in. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The flash game upon which this story is based, Unfairy Tales: Of Slumber and Dreams, is not owned by me. It is owned by Foofa Studios, and probably Crazy Monkey Games too. Many of the characters and things in this story are taken from the game, and those things are subsequently not owned by me. I did end up adding some of my own characters to fill in gaps, but any characters here that match the game are not my property. This work is purely fan made and gives me no monetary compensation, even if that would be nice.

I would like to thank anyone who reads this story. This project was born out of my frustration with a flawed game and genuine interest in taking the potential of the story and background and making it better. I just hope I do a good job of it. I'd also like to thank my friends for providing their feedback and support. This project was way too big to do alone without my brain exploding, so thank you all for helping me.

And now, on with the show, uh, story. Please enjoy, and try to leave a review. Every writer wants to hear feedback. And don't be afraid of constructive criticism.

Chapter 1: Trick or Treat

"Come on Peter, stop lagging behind!"

"Maybe you should just slow down Alan!"

Alan laughed as he led his friends in trick or treating. The streets were rather empty, this was one of the lonelier parts of town. But it was safe. Alan marched along in his skeleton costume, the mask discarded after the elastic band got too uncomfortable, and it was too hard to talk in. Next to him was Cecil. She was opinionated, but sweet, dressed in a black cat costume, her shoulder length black hair nearly blending into it, if it weren't for the blue hair tie she kept it in. The costume fit her rather well with her green eyes.

And behind them were Juseppes, a young brunette dressed in a magician's outfit, which was appropriate since he loved reading about stage magic, ever since he was in elementary school. And at the very end of the line was Peter, a boy a bit taller than Alan and also quite heavier, with sandy-blonde hair and who had dressed himself in a green short sleeve shirt and a fake beard, saying it was "him in 20 years" or something like that.

"Alan, you really should slow down, even my feet are starting to get a bit tired," said Cecil, who was trying to keep up with the spiky-haired blond as best she could.

Turning to see Cecil's tired face, Alan relented, and slowed his pace enough for everybody to catch up. "Sorry," he said.

"It's okay, Alan, we know how big your sweet tooth is," joked Juseppes, punching him lightly on the arm. "Just save some for us."

"I don't understand how you still have teeth with all the candy you eat on Halloween," said Peter, who was still catching his breath from trying to keep up.

"Lots of brushing," replied Alan.

"I'm sure Dr. Pierce will be disappointed when you show up without any cavities," said Cecil as she readjusted her cat ears.

The four continued on, stopping at every house, with Alan trying his hardest to hold himself back as they moved from place to place. They could all see the excitement on Alan's face, the holiday, and the candy, always brought that out. And the fact that Alan was one of the fastest kids in school only served to make him difficult to trick or treat with, or at least keep up with. When his mother used to escort them around, he used to drive her crazy. Finally they reached the end of the block, gazing at the facade of a large mansion.

"Whose house is that?" asked Juseppes.

"I think it belongs to Dr. Azure," said Cecil.

Peter had a flash of recognition. "She's that lady doctor that works in the kid's wing of the hospital, right?"

Cecil nodded, "Yeah, she took care of my little brother when he broke his arm. She's real nice. You remember her, right Alan?" Cecil's question was accompanied by an impish smile.

Alan tried not to blush at the question. Of course Alan remembered her. She came to town about five years ago, and had seen Alan lots of times to treat sprained ankles, broken bones, and the like. And Alan developed a rather powerful crush on her when he was ten. Not that it was hard to be infatuated with her mind you. Amelia Azure was in her early thirties, about five foot four inches tall, but with a petite figure that made her seem so fragile at times. Her skin was a light colored, but not horribly pale, pretty pink lips that she never bothered putting lipstick on like his mother, deep blue eyes that caught his attention right away, and soft, wavy blonde hair that stopped at the base of her neck.

She might have even known about his crush, but if she did she never said anything. She was always so gentle with everybody. She had also stopped by his house to talk to his mother. He remembered her telling his mom that she bought an old house just outside of town dirt cheap, since the seller was just about to have the place scrapped. But he'd never actually known where it was. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her in quite some time.

"I remember her. I haven't seen her for a while though."

"My Dad mentioned her after he took my little sister in," said Peter. "He heard she was taking time off to visit family or something."

Alan didn't know she had any family. It was sad that she wasn't around though. It explained by the lights were off in the house and all the windows were shut. He almost started to head back, when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. There was a flash of light in the front windows.

"Did you guys see that?"

"See what?" asked Juseppes.

"I didn't see anything," replied Peter.

"Me either," said Cecil.

"There was a light in the windows there, I saw it."

Juseppes gave him a skeptical look. "You probably imagined it Alan, she's not there."

But just then, Alan saw another flash from behind the shutters of the windows. "There! See it now!"

His friends nodded in agreement this time. Peter spoke first. "Do you think someone broke in?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to check it out,"

Cecil put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Alan, if someone broke in we should call the police." Peter and Juseppes nodded in agreement.

Alan shrugged her off. "I just want to check it out first. Maybe she hasn't left yet. She could need help."

He was already moving past fence and down the path to the door. Most people put flamingos or gnomes for yard decorations, or maybe religious things. Dr. Azure's yard was filled with small statues of fairies. His friends were trailing behind him, even as he reached the door.

"This is ridiculous Alan," said Peter. "We really should call the cops or something, or get one of the adults from the houses nearby."

Alan wouldn't listen. He had to know if Dr. Azure was okay. She was a friend, and she'd appreciate him looking out for her home, whether she was here or not. But the pounding in his chest made him think that maybe, just maybe, he'd never really gotten over his infatuation with her.

There was another flash from behind the shutters, far brighter than the others. What was going on? Alan pressed his ear to the door, hoping to hear something, when the door started to give way. It wasn't locked. But as the door continued to creek open, Alan felt a rush of air, like a vacuum. And then the door swung hard the rest of the way open, hitting the inside wall of the house with a crash. The vacuum force was magnified by fifty.

That was the last thing Alan saw before the world faded away.


	2. Chapter 2 The Land of Dreams

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters from this game. This is simply a fan based work. Please read and review.

Chapter 2: The Land of Dreams

The whole world was chaos. Everything around him was a spiraling vortex of colors and sounds, and he was being pulled by forces too strong to resist. He heard the voices of his friends in the distance, but he couldn't see them amongst the sea of light and motion around him. Everything in this funnel of light was leading to sensory overload. There were flashes of lightning, the roar of thunder, burning heat, freezing cold, pleasant smells of flowers and the stench of rotten plants. Alan was spinning around so much, he was afraid he would start flying apart.

And then came the sudden stop. Alan groaned as he sat up. His hands made contact with grass. He opened his eyes, and stared in confusion. This wasn't Dr. Azure's house, or his neighborhood. For one thing, it was day time, and he had to shield his eyes from the sun. For another, he was facing what looked like the gate of an enormous gray castle. He looked up to see the points of the gate above, and above that was a shield with the image of a grinning Jack O' Lantern and a starry sky. His candy bag lay next to him, as did his mask. Where was he? And where were his friends?

"HEY! You there! Stay where you are!"

Alan jumped, turning to face the tip of a spear, before falling over onto the floor. The man holding it at him was dressed in armor, with the chest part colored purple and bearing a grinning Jack O' Lantern. His scarred face was set into a grimace.

"Who are you?" he growled, continuing to point his spear at the boy.

"I-"

The man with the spear glanced over at his bag of spilled candy, and his eyes narrowed. He glared once again at Alan, before pressing the spear closer to the boy. "Get up," he said.

"But I," Alan tried to say, but the guard just grabbed him firmly by the arm and pulled him to his feet, twisting the arm behind Alan's back.

"I said get up. You're our prisoner and you'll do as I say. GUARDS!"

Two other men dressed in the same armor came out of the castle before stopping to salute.

"Sergeant Crane?"

"This boy is an intruder in the palace. You two will help me escort him to a cell in the dungeon. And pick up that bag he was carrying."

Alan could only wince in pain from the man's grip, which only tightened when Alan tried to say anything. The guards gathered up his bag and marched him inside and down the hall. The floors within were covered in a red and gold carpet, and as they walked, they passed statues of knights and other creatures, paintings, suits of armor, and more images of that strange Jack O' Lantern. And all the while Alan stayed silent, lest he face more pain or potentially have his arm ripped out of its socket. But what on earth was going on? Could this have been some sort of prank? Some sort of dream?

He was taken down a flight of stairs before being shoved into a waiting cell. The older, rougher guard that Alan now knew as Sergeant Crane, turned to his two companions. "You two stay here and guard the prisoner. We can't take any chances here. You'll stay here until I give the word, and don't talk to him either. I'll take this," he said, taking Alan's bag of Halloween spoils, "for examination. Understood?"

The two guards nodded silently, and Sergeant Crane walked off up the stairs, leaving Alan alone with the two soldiers. Alan could only slump down on the cell's wooden bench and wonder how in the world he got into this mess.

* * *

It had been almost two hours. The two other guards that had been left in front of the cell had done as they were told and hadn't spoken a word to Alan all the while, even when Alan tried to ask them where he was. They just stood there, occasionally moving away to eat or drink at a nearby table. But they never went out of sight.

What was going to happen to him? And what happened to Peter, Juseppes, and Cecil? Obviously that strange light had separated them. So how far away were they? Or were they even all together? And how had he ended up at a castle?

Alan's musing was cut short when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Sergeant Crane had returned. He nodded at the guards, who left the dungeon. Sergeant Crane unlocked the door before motioning for Alan to follow.

"Where are you taking me?" Alan asked tentatively, hoping the man wouldn't twist his arm again. It was still hurting from the first time.

But the older man refused to answer. He just kept walking behind Alan and prodding him forward up the stairs an down the hall. Finally they stopped before a large set of wooden doors. They looked big enough to stop a cannon. Crane opened one of the doors. "Inside, now."

Alan walked in only to be met with a pitch black room. He turned to talk to the guard, but the door simply slammed shut. "HEY!" he yelled back. He heard the door lock. "Hey, what are you doing? I can't see a thing in here!"

Something moved behind him. Alan whirled around to find the source of the noise. "Hello? Who's there?"

"So you're the intruder, are you?"

Who said that? Where were they? Alan's eyes darted around, trying to find whoever was talking to him.

"Rather young, but then again I suppose I shouldn't put it past Geppetto to recruit children." The voice was deep, but sounded cultured. And there was an undercurrent of anger in it. But where was it coming from? The room seemed to echo, making it hard to tell. There were more sounds, squeaks and groans and other things that kept Alan on edge.

"Who are you?" said Alan.

"I?" asked the voice. There was a snap, and suddenly there was light in the room. Alan could see torches on the walls, burning low, dispelling some, but not all, of the darkness. Wisps of smoke floated up to Alan's face, and he looked down to see a large cloud forming on the floor in front of him.

"What the heck?!" He moved back as the mass of smoke grew larger, twisting and curving with a life of its own. Lights erupted from it, three of them, shining out like beacons, forming what looked like a screaming face carved out of the air. He could even hear a low wail as the thing increased in size. Alan continued to walk in reverse until he felt the wall touch his back. The smoke finally took shape, and in a moment, a very tall figure stood before Alan, glaring down at him. The boy's legs gave out, sending him to the floor, but that just made the person, if he could call it a person, seem all the larger. If Alan had to guess, he would say he, it, was six feet four inches tall. And he was dressed in all black, with long, strong looking arms crossed over his chest.

But the head, the head was what terrified Alan the most. Everything else looked human in shape, but the head was a giant Jack O' Lantern, one that glared down at him with glowing eyes, and whose mouth was fixed in a tight grimace. And then it did what no simple carved pumpkin or even a mask should have been able to do. It moved its mouth.

"I am King Jack O' Lantern, ruler of this place. But since it is _you_ who have intruded into my palace, I think I shall be the one to ask the questions, and you shall supply the answers. Do you understand me boy?" The pumpkin-man continued to glare down at him. "Now tell me, how did Geppetto send you here? And what were you trying to accomplish? Were you trying to slip poisoned candies into the stock for the Candy Harvest Festival? You should be aware that we've sent those candies you had for examination, so if that was you're plan, we'll soon know."

"I, I wasn't trying to poison anyone! I don't even know where I am! Who's Geppetto?"

Jack simply grabbed the boy by the shoulder and pulled him to his feet, before bending down to look him in the eyes. Alan could see the flames dancing in his eye sockets, growing ever more violent in their movements, and he could feel the heat on his face.

"Don't lie to me. It won't do you any good at this point. What did he promise you? Money? Power? Gifts? Whatever his deal was, you made a grave error in accepting it, but if you talk now, you will be shown leniency."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Jack just continued to glare, his voice growing ever louder. "Sergeant Crane saw you fall before the entrance to my castle from a vortex of magic. I highly doubt that you would know nothing about that. Now I suggest you start talking because while I am averse to harming children, my patience is wearing thin and I am inclined to make exceptions in this case."

"I DON"T KNOW!" Alan cried, before crumpling to the ground again, his body shaking like a leaf in a storm, and his eyes stinging with tears for the time in he didn't know how long. "I don't know anything. I don't even know where I am. All I know is that I was trick-or-treating with my friends and we opened a door, and now I'm here and they're not, and Jack O' Lanterns can't move like that, and I just want to go home!"

There was silence for a time, while Alan sobbed into the carpet. Then Alan felt Jack knelling beside him.

"You're from Earth, aren't you?"

His voice was soft this time, gentle, with a hint of astonishment. But Alan didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to be here, in this terrible place.

The pumpkin-man gave a long sigh before Alan felt the light touching his eyelids increase, and the sound of blinds moving reached his ears. And then Alan felt a hand on his back.

"Don't hurt me, please."

"I'm not going to hurt you, not anymore. You don't need to be afraid."

Jack helped him up, and Alan saw the room again. The torches were out, but the windows were open, letting the sun illuminate everything. He was in a throne room. Jack pointed to the many chairs that faced the throne.

"Sit down here, you'll be more comfortable."

After Alan sat down, he looked at the throne across from him. It was mostly black, with pieces of orange, and had the same grinning pumpkin carved into its back. Jack sat down beside him.

"It seems that I have made a rather large mistake. Tell me, what's your name?"

Alan saw the more pleasant expression on his face and took it as encouragement. "My name's Alan."

"And how old are you Alan?"

"I'm thirteen" he said. And he paused before he continued. "If you don't mind my asking, what's going on here?"

"I apologize for the theatrics," said Jack. "But Sergeant Crane was under the impression that you were a threat, understandable considering how you arrived. We thought that if we frightened you a bit it would throw you off guard and make it easier to get you to talk."

Okay, that seemed made sense. But it still didn't explain how Alan was talking to a man with a pumpkin for a head. Or how he ended up at a castle.

"So where am I?"

"You are in the Land of Dreams. Specifically, you are in Halloween City, capital of the Halloween Kingdom, on the western continent."

Whatever fragments of understanding Alan had were lost to the wind at that point. "The Land of Dreams? Where's that?"

"The Land of Dreams is a world separate from that of Earth. It was forged from the power gathered from the dreams of the people of Earth, particularly the dreams of children, such as yourself."

"So I'm in some sort of dream world?"

"Correct."

Alan got up from the chair and walked around. This was too crazy. People just didn't get pulled into dream worlds like this, not outside of books or movies or cartoons. And yet, there was no other explanation for the fact that he was sitting here, in a castle, talking to a man with a pumpkin for a head. And he definitely wasn't just dreaming. The pain from his arm being twisted behind his back was far too real for that. But if he was here, that just left one question.

"But how did I even get here?"

Jack just kept his eyes, or rather, eye sockets, or whatever they were, locked on Alan. "Yes, I was wondering about that myself. Would you mind telling me what you remember before you ended up here?"

So Alan told him the story, what there was of it. He told him about how he, Peter, Juseppes, and Cecil had been trick-or-treating, about the light in Dr. Azure's house, and the vacuum force that pulled them in, and the chaotic lights around him before he landed. The whole time Alan talked, Jack just sat there, listening intently, only stopping Alan briefly a handful of times for more details. By the end of it, Jack seemed to be lost in thought. At least that was Alan's guess. Even if Jack's face moved something like a human, it was still hard for the boy to tell exact facial expressions on someone whose face was carved out of a pumpkin.

"I see. It would appear that you and your friends got caught up in some form of interdimensional portal magic and you must have been separated by the instability factor inherent in the theory of portal transportation."

Whatever that had meant, Alan hadn't understood a word. "Huh?"

Jack's face widened in realization. "Oh, right, you're not from here. I was just hypothesizing on your means of travel. Would you like me to explain in more detail?"

Alan nodded, and Jack got up from his seat to stand next to him.

"As you can see, magic is very prevalent in this world Alan. One such use of magic is for teleportation. You may be familiar with the meaning of the word and the concept. Teleportation magic involves a spell caster using a spell to instantly transport themselves from one location to another. However, one of the issues with such a spell is accuracy. The longer the distance one wants to travel, the easier it is to miss if you aren't careful. Are you following me so far?"

Alan just kept nodding, feeling like he was back in class. Though he didn't feel bored like he often did when his teachers went on and on.

"Imagine for a moment that I wanted to transport myself from here to right in front of that window," he said, pointing to the wall across from them. "Now imagine someone doing the same thing, but starting from the other side of the room. The distance is greater, and if the transporter wasn't careful in performing the spell, instead of landing right in front of the window, they could end up in that corner over there," he said, pointing to the far right of the window.

"Now there was a wizard who once proposed a theory of using portals as another method of teleportation. His theory suggested creating a magical door at one point, and then building a tunnel to another point, at which a second opening would appear. The concept had advantages over personal teleportation, in that other people wouldn't be dependent on the one casting the teleportation spell in order to travel that way. Instead, they could just walk through the open portal. Of course there would probably be an opening mechanism, but it wouldn't be all that different from a door. That same wizard thought that the portal technique would remove the accuracy problem associated with increasing distance, since the ends of the portal were supposed to be fixed. At least that was the idea."

Jack continued on, delighted to see he had Alan's full attention by this point. "However, he was wrong on that last point. While the ends would be anchored, the problem came in the middle. Early testing showed that as the portal got longer, it became increasingly unstable, and began to unravel, as it were, in the middle. This resulted in the portal veering of the projected course and the other end opening in locations away from the target, just like personal teleportation. When multiple objects were sent in at once, there were even cases of the portal unraveling to the point where multiple exits were created, and the group of items were separated. After that, no one was particularly interested in the concept, and the wizard abandoned it as well, leaving in the realm of the experimental and theoretical."

"So..." said Alan, "you think that's what happened to us, this portal or whatever just messed up and dropped us in different places here?"

"It would seem to fit, yes. As to who made such a portal, I have no idea. But that isn't really a priority at the moment. Our first task should be to locate your three friends to make sure you are all safe."

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course. I do need to make up for the way we accidentally treated you, and I can't have four children running around in a strange world where they could get hurt. Sending you back is another, trickier matter, but safety will do for now. I'll have the guards do a discreet search of the city. I'm sure your friends landed somewhere close to where you did, so it shouldn't take long to locate them all." He saw Alan's still worried face, and he put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry Alan. I promise we'll help you find your friends."

Before either could say anymore, there came a knock at the door. Sergeant Crane entered the room. He instantly laid his eyes on Alan. "Your Majesty, has the spy started talking?"

"Ah, Sergeant Crane. I was actually just going to summon you. This boy here is Alan, and he is not a spy, or a threat. Right now I need you to round up the guards and have them begin a careful search of the city. I need them to locate-"

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt Your Majesty," said the Sergeant. "But I was sent here to give you this. The head of intelligence said it was very important, and wanted you to read it right away." The soldier handed over an envelope, which Jack took immediately."

"Oh? Let's see what we have here." Jack opened the letter, and as he began to read it, Alan noticed his expression change. His mouth fell into a tight line, and his shoulders slumped. Whatever it was, Alan knew it couldn't be particularly good news.

After he was done reading, Jack looked up to address Alan, and Sergeant Crane, who was still waiting on his king's reply. "Would you two give me a few minutes alone? I need to think."

"But," started Alan, but Jack just cut him off.

"Just wait outside in the hall Alan. The guards won't do you any harm. Isn't that right Sergeant?" He gave a sharp look to Crane, who merely nodded in agreement.

"Come on kid, you heard the king," said the Sergeant as he, gently, lead Alan out of the room. And as the door closed, Alan had to wonder why Jack still seemed so disturbed.

* * *

Alan felt something like deja vu as he sat on the carpeted floor in the hallway. At least he was pretty sure that's what it was called. This admittedly wasn't as bad as before. The carpets were rather nice, and the hallway wasn't as cold or damp as the cell he'd been in earlier. But it had been twenty minutes without word from Jack, and he felt the same fears he'd had within the cell bubble up again. What was in that letter? And where were Peter, Juseppes, and Cecil? Were they hurt?

Alan just wanted to help start the guard search already. The sooner the guards started looking, the sooner the four of them would be together, and the sooner they could figure on a way home. Their families were probably going berserk right now. His mother was probably already storming into the nearest police station and chewing out whoever was in charge. He pitied whoever that was. His mother was normally even tempered, but if you pushed her hard enough, her temper was a truly terrible thing to behold.

The guards had lived up to their word and not bothered him, and right now they weren't even paying attention to him. The silence was starting to become maddening. He wished Jack would open the doors, that something would just _happen. _

Finally the doors to the throne room opened, and Alan hopped to his feet to go inside. The guards stayed where they were, not even bothering to get in his way. When Alan went in, he saw Jack sitting on his throne, his hands folded in front of his... mouth Alan supposed, since Jack didn't really have a chin. He still wasn't smiling as his gaze was locked on the window to his right.

"Jack?" Alan said, forgoing formality altogether. "Are you going to start the guard search now?"

Jack's answer was somber. "It appears that the guard search will no longer be necessary Alan."

Alan's face brightened, despite the king's tone. "Does that mean you found them already?!"

"In a way. I know their location, but I am afraid retrieving your friends is no longer possible."

The words hit Alan like a punch to the stomach. "What? Why?!"

Jack remained on his throne, still staring out the window, refusing to look Alan in the eye. "You recall earlier, when I thought you were a threat, that I questioned you about Geppetto?"

"Yeah, why? What does this Geppetto person have to do with Peter, Juseppes, and Cecil?"

"Geppetto is currently the single greatest menace to our world. He started off as a puppet maker in the neighboring Sleeping Kingdom, before he made a living puppet Pinocchio. And from there, he created an army of evil, cruel Pinocchio clones. Since then he's allied with the leaders of the Sleeping Kingdom and has taken over most of the kingdoms in the Land of Dreams. This one is one of the remaining holdouts. The most recent report from my spies claims that three children matching your descriptions were seen in the custody of Sleeping Kingdom forces. Apparently the portal that brought you here dropped them all the way across the border."

"But what does he want with them?"

"From what my informants have been able to gather, Geppetto has always been interested in finding a way to your world. Once there, he could directly access the power of children's dreams. With your three friends and their dreams under his control, he could have the power to crush all remaining opposition to his rule."

An image flashed in Alan's mind, of Peter, Juseppes, and Cecil stuck in something like a mad scientist's lab, or some demented sorcerer's lair, being used like toys, like objects. It made him nauseous. "So? You're the king. Why don't you just round up the army, storm in, beat this Geppetto guy into the ground and rescue them?"

"That's out of the question Alan. We already had to fight Geppetto once when he invaded, and barely managed to push him back before closing up the only access point between the kingdoms. Going on the offensive would be impossible."

"So what are we going to do?"

"There is nothing that can be done, nothing that would succeed anyway. I'm sorry to say that your friends are completely unreachable."

Alan couldn't believe this. His hands tightened into fists at his side. How could he just give up, just like that?!

"I thought you were going to help me? You promised you would help me find them and get us home? And now you're just telling me that you won't help and I should just deal with it?!"

"Don't raise your voice at me boy. I've gone through the scenario and there's no sure way to get them out of there."

"Then why don't you take a chance? Just because it's not a sure fire way doesn't mean it won't work. All you're doing is being a pathetic coward!"

At that point Jack got up from his throne, his eyes flaring with fire. "Watch your tongue boy. I am the king, and your elder. You're just a child. You know nothing of this situation!"

If Jack was trying to scare him again, Alan wasn't having it. He just stared down the Halloween king. "Just because you're older than me doesn't make you automatically right all the time. Wrong is wrong, no matter the age. And you're crown doesn't mean anything to me. Like you said, I'm not from here. And I can talk to however I want. I don't see anyone I should respect. All I see is a lying coward. You promised me you would help me find my friends, but the minute it gets too difficult and you aren't totally sure you can win, you back out."

Jack just continued to glare. "I am only thinking of the citizens of my kingdom. I am their king, and ultimately I work to give them peace and security. I cannot risk another war that we could not win, and couldn't force my subjects into a state of panic and fear. It's already bad enough that small bands of Geppetto's forces climb over the mountain border."

But Alan wouldn't be dissuaded. "But you said that with my friends Geppetto could crush anybody that tries to stop him. How is letting him have them keeping your subjects safe? And how secure are they if there are still enemies sneaking in? That doesn't sound safe to me. A promise is a promise, and you're breaking it." Alan paused, taking a breath, and strengthening his resolve. The next words he spoke were in a lower, firmer voice. "And if you won't help me, I'll rescue them myself."

Jack's face widened in alarm. "You're insane! You barely know anything about this world, and you're just one child. You would have to get over the mountains without the key to the Drowsy Gate."

Alan was already headed back towards the door. "I'll dig a hole through those mountains if I have to. I'm not stopping until I free them."

Suddenly, Jack appeared in front of him, blocking his exit. "But you'll die, or be captured. Are you really so stupid as to gamble away your life so recklessly?"

But Alan just looked up into Jack's face, his eyes showing a will of iron. "The three of them are my best friends. We've known each other since we were babies. Our parents knew each other before we were born. If I just sat back and didn't help them, I'd be the worst friend alive. And I know they'd do the same thing for me in a heartbeat. Now move out of my way. I'm leaving."

Slowly, Jack moved aside, letting Alan continue to the door. Alan reached out for the handle, not sure where to even start, but also knowing he had to try.

"Wait."

Alan turned back to Jack. The king's face was downcast. "You aren't going to stop me."

"I wasn't about to," said Jack. "You're right Alan, I did promise to help you, and backing out now is cowardly."

"Does that mean you're going to get the army?"

"No," said Jack, and before Alan could protest, Jack just raised his hand for silence. "As a king, I still feel that I can't risk the safety of my kingdom any further than necessary. It wouldn't be right. However, that doesn't mean I can't risk my own life. What I am saying is, could I join you on your expedition?"

That took Alan by surprise. But he didn't stand and stare too long before a smile spread over his face. "Sure. The more help the better."

"Good," said Jack. "Now before we set out, I believe preparations are in order. Follow me."

Alan let Jack take the lead out the throne room, feeling hope fill his heart. He_ would_ rescue them, and they would be able to get home. He knew he would.


End file.
